


A moment of life

by LonelyAngel



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Accident, Injury, car crash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-10 12:31:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10437810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LonelyAngel/pseuds/LonelyAngel
Summary: The driver of the car wants to go home. He wants to see his familiy, his wife, his son, his daughter. It's an accident. It's not his fault when his car crashes against the tourbus.He pays for it. And he's not the only one.





	1. Chapter 1

The driver of the car rubs his eyes. He's tired, he's been driving far too long. He should stop for a while to get some sleep. He thinks about his children, his wife at home. He hears the voice of his little daughter who wraps her arms around his legs when he comes home and he sees his older son, who greets him with a highfive because he's already "too cool" to hug his parents. The driver knows he will hug his son anyway and his son will hug back briefly and then run to his room and continue to play. His wife will give him a kiss and his little daughter will giggle because her daddy kisses her mommy and because she doesn't understand love. Real love. The driver yearns for his family and he's not far from home. He will drive on.

The roads are slippery in Ohio, it's freezing outside. The driver sees a huge tour bus driving on the other side of the street towards him. How many people are in there? he wonders. He brakes, but the road is icy. The car slides, bounces against the edge of the road, and overturns.

The driver breaks his neck. He is dead instantly.

The car hits the tourbus. The bus is heavy, it doesn't tilt over, but it is pushed off the road. The wheels glide over the ice, over the embankment and the bus tilts. The windows splinter, the bus falls and falls and remains laying on the roof.

 

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Tyler knows, everyone will die one day. And if one day he learns that he will die now, then that is alright. He will cry and continue fighting, and he will think about Jenna and Josh and his family, but when his time is up, he will accept it. He accepts death. He thinks.

But now that he is laying on his side, his face cut from the glass, his heart quickly beats against his ribs and he is afraid. He is so afraid of death. His body aches, he tastes blood in his mouth, but he can't move.

 

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Josh groans. He lays on his back and he has a high pitched noise in his ears. He blinks. Everything is white in front of him. Josh raises his head a bit. It takes a moment for him to recognize what it is. It's snow. Josh moves a little and tries to get up. A stabbing pain goes through his leg. It pounds and Josh doesn't have the courage to see how much he is hurt. He lays in front of one of the broken windows. Josh suppresses a scream as he slowly gets up and pushes himself outside with his other foot. The rest of the glass, which is still in the frame, cuts him into the belly when he crawls outside. The snow hurts in his wounds.

Josh can't think clearly. He doesn't know what happened. He turns his head. The bus is laying on the roof, the wheels are in the air. The trailer is located a few meters away, it has been broken off and hit a tree group. Why is the bus not on the road?

Josh doesn't remember what happened. He doesn't know what to do. His mind is blank. He barely feels the pain. He is shocked. He creeps away from the bus. After a few meters, he collapses.

A face appears in his mind. Brown eyes, a smile.

"Tyler!" he shouts, but there's only a rasping sound coming out of his mouth.

 

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Tyler opens his eyes, he tries to see something, but everything around him is dark. His left eye is burning, tiny splinters of glass have been bored into his eye. Something is laying on him and makes breathing difficult, but he doesn't know what it is. He doesn't know where he is.

He takes a deep breath, but he can't call for the others, he can't speak. He turns his head, slowly, very slowly. It is bright in the front, he sees a shadow. Someone stumbles out of the bus. Tyler opens his mouth but he can't speak. He can't.

He gets dizzy. He closes his eyes and tries to ignore the pain, but it is too strong and it feels like his head is exploding.

 

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The driver's car has landed on the wheels. The driver is laying on the steering wheel. His eyes are open.

In his pocket is his wallet. In it is a picture. A picture of his family. He's not on the picture. His wife looks smiling at the camera, his daughter is on her arm. She was only a few months old when the picture was taken. His son stands beside his mother and holds her hand. The picture is already a few years old, but the driver still loves his family as much as then.

Blood runs over his face and drips onto the seat. His eyes are lifeless, his neck broken.

His wife will turn pale when the police knocks at her door. She will stroke her children over their head and send them to their room, while she makes a coffee for the policemen. Her hands will shake. She will cry when she's told that her husband won't come home. She'll press her lips together when the policeman tells her that she's not the only one who will mourn in the future. It was an accident. At night she will lay in her bed, her children beside her, and will pray for the soul of her husband and the other young man. She will fall asleep with tears in her eyes.

 

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Josh looks at the bus and sees someone stumbling out of it. It's Mark and he falls to his knees next to Josh. His eyes are full with fear and he's trembling.

"Josh." he says. "Josh."

Josh reaches for his hand. "Mark."

Mark holds his hand. He doesn't notice Josh's injuries. He doesn't notice that he is hurt, too.

"Where are the others?" Josh points behind him. "There." he says.

 

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Michael holds his arm. The bone is visible and he grits his teeth. It could have been worse. Much worse.

He sees Josh laying in the snow next to Mark. The snow around his leg is red, blood-red. Michael immediately sees that his leg will never recover. He hears breathing behind him and crying. They are the others who have managed to get out of the bus. Michael has no idea if everyone is there. He hears only relieved sobbing and groaning, when the wounds cause too much pain.

Michael kneels down beside Mark and Josh. Josh is pale, his eyes flutter, and he almost becomes unconscious. Mark reaches into his pocket. The mobile, it's still there. The glass has a crack, but when Mark taps on the display with shaking hands, it lights up. He calls the police and sighs in relief, when the woman at the phone says that help comes soon.

Michael pushes his healthy arm under Josh and helps him to sit up. Josh grits his teeth and groans in pain when he moves his leg.

Mark cries and laughs at the same time. "It's over. It's over. We're safe."

 

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Breathing is difficult. Tyler struggles for air and coughs. He can't breathe. His lungs hurt.

"Help." he whispers. He can't move, now matter how hard he tries.

Tyler gasps for breath. The air is warm. It surrounds him like a thick blanket. His lungs fill with smoke. He tries to breathe, he needs air, but there's just smoke around him. Tyler coughs. The smoke burns in his eyes. It's getting warm.

Tyler panics. "Help!" he cries, but no one hears him.

Air, he needs air. He chokes. He tries to move, but he can't. He can't.

His eyes water. Tyler hears the crackling of the flames.

He takes a last breath. The smoke burns in his lungs and makes breathing impossible. Tyler closes his eyes. He will die and he knows it.

He doesn't even have time to think about Jenna or Josh or the others, he has inhaled too much smoke. Tyler can feel the tears on his cheeks and then he loses consciousness.

 

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Josh's eyes are closed when he hears someone screaming.

When he notices the fire, it's already too late.

Michael stands up. His eyes glance over the people who crouch in the snow and he counts. He counts again. Somebody's missing.

"Tyler." whispers Josh.

Mark screams and stumbles towards the bus. The heat burns his face, he has to cough. The smoke is black, the flames grow bigger and bigger. He takes a step towards the bus, but the fire is so hot that he can't go any further.

"Mark, come back!" yells Michael.

Mark shakes his head. "No! No!"

He feels an arm around him and someone drags him back at a safe distance to the fire.

He hears a bang and sees a giant flash fire. The heat is so strong that all of them keep their hands up to protect their faces. The heat burns on their skin. The smoke is deep black.

It makes Mark cough. But it's not due to the smoke in his lungs that tears run down his face.

 

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Josh is petrified. He stares at the burning bus and he cries silently.

He only sees the flames and the smoke that darkens everything.

Hot ashes burn his hair, but he only feels the pain of his best friend who burns in the flames.


	2. Chapter 2

Josh doesn't want to open his eyes. He doesn't want to. When he closes his eyes, there is only darkness around him. If he opens his eyes he'd have to face reality. He'd have to accept his best friend's death. And Josh doesn't accept it. He imagines what it would be like if Tyler would be alive. He'd walk through the door and he would sit down next to Josh and gently stroke over his injured leg and sing for him.

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Jenna sits in her living room and stares at the piano, which stands in the corner.

Tyler's presence is everywhere. In the instruments that stand around. In the notebooks laying on his desk, into which he has written his lyrics. She feels his presence everywhere. Jenna can't walk through the house without being reminded of Tyler. His clothes, laying over the chair in the bedroom. The perfume that is in the bathroom. The pictures of them at their wedding.

Jenna slept on the sofa for the last few days. She can't sleep in the bed. It still smells like Tyler. She's a widow.

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The woman is pale. She is trembling as she enters the hospital. Her children are with their grandparents. The woman is glad that her relatives support her. She doesn't know how to do it alone. She doesn't know how to live on. She walks down the hall. Hesitantly, she is standing at the door. Her hand trembles so much that she needs a moment to calm herself. She knocks. There is no answer. She knocks again and opens the door.

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It is the first time in hours that Josh opens his eyes. He does it because he hears someone entering the room.

The person stops. He hears breathing.

Josh blinks. A woman stands in front of him. She is pale and has black circles around her eyes. Her hands tremble.

"What do you want?" he asks. His voice is hoarse.

The woman steps closer. She looks at Josh's leg. On the bandages. Then she looks up. Her soul is broken and Josh sees it. She opens her mouth. "I'm sorry about your leg." she says softly.

"What do you want?" repeats Josh. She keeps silent.

Josh takes a deep breath. He knows who she is. He doesn't know her, but he knows it anyway.

The woman swallows. "Your friend ... I ..."

For the first time in days Josh feels something. It's anger.

"He's dead! Your husband killed him, he killed my best friend!" shouts Josh.

The woman starts to cry.

"He deserved to die, Tyler didn't, Tyler didn't deserve it." Josh feels the tears in his eyes, but he ignores them.

The woman is sobbing. Her shoulders tremble. "I am sorry." she whispers. "I'm so sorry, I wish I could help you."

Josh turns his head away. "It's too late for that." he says bitterly.

The woman is sobbing. Josh doesn't feel bad for making her cry.

"Go away." he says, closing his eyes.

The woman turns around. "I'm so sorry." she cries and goes.

Josh cries silently.

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Michael is there when Josh makes his first steps. His arm is bandaged and a long scar will be on his arm for the rest of his life, but Michael doesn't complain. A look at Josh and he knows it could have been it much worse for him.

Josh groans. His hands clasp the crutches, his knuckles are white. He grits his teeth when his smashed leg touches the ground. After a few steps he cries out in pain. The doctor helps him to lie down again and gives him some painkillers. Josh is exhausted. He gasps for breath.

"Tyler would be proud of you, Josh." says Michael.

Josh starts to cry. Michael sits next to him and lays an arm around his shoulder.

"He won't come back." sobs Josh.

Michael closes his eyes and hugs Josh tightly.

"I know." he says.

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Jenna stares out the window. Mark sits next to her.

"I miss him." Her voice sounds empty. _She_ is empty.

Mark stares at the ceiling to hold back the tears. "I'm so sorry, Jenna, I should have helped him, I should have gone back in the bus ..."

Jenna shakes her head. "It's not your fault, Mark, it was an accident, you couldn't have helped him."

Mark buries his head in his hands.

Jenna wipes the tears from her face. "They say he didn't suffer." she whispers.

"Does this thought help you?" asks Mark.

Jenna shakes her head. "No." She takes a deep breath. "How is Josh?"

Mark bites his lip. "He is better, he will never be able to walk again like before, but his leg is strong enough to carry his weight. He… he doesn't speak."

Jenna doesn't look at Mark. "I can't sleep, Mark, it feels like he's coming back at any moment, but that's an illusion. He never comes back. I love him. I love him."

Her tears drip onto the couch.

Mark hugs her. He can't comfort her.

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Josh hears Tyler's voice. He hears the songs for weeks. Tyler's voice accompanies him. When he hears Tyler singing it is as if he is still alive. Josh has heard him sing thousands of times. He knows what Tyler looks like when he sings.

He wants to believe that Tyler is now in heaven and is watching him, but he can't. He sees Tyler sitting in the dark, frightened and alone. Josh doesn't know why he has this picture in his head. It frightens him. He doesn't want Tyler to be afraid. He misses his best friend. It is as if someone had poisoned his heart. Josh doesn't want to be afraid anymore.

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"I love you, Tyler." whispers Jenna.

She is laying in her bed. It no longer smells like Tyler. He is gone.

The rain is pounding against the windows. Jenna gets up and opens the window. Cold air hits her face.

It lightens.

Jenna clutches her upper body with her arms to keep the warmth. Tyler is no longer there to warm her.

Jenna counts the seconds. There's thunder. The thunderstorm is near.

"Tyler." she whispers. "I love you."

She hopes that Tyler can hear her.


End file.
